The Eds and Me
by YouGotRedOnYou
Summary: Kevin's cousin is new to school and he warns her to stay away from the Eds. What was so wrong about the Eds? Why should she stay away from them? And will she even listen to her cousin's warning?
1. Chapter 1

Being the new kid kind of sucked. Okay, it totally sucked. Not knowing anyone sucked, but at least there was one person I knew. My cousin, Kevin. We didn't always see eye to eye since I was a year younger and always wanted to hang out with his friends. When we were little, he would tell me to find my own friends cause he didn't want me to steal his. But I didn't steal his friends, they hardly knew who I was. I used to live far away from Peach Creek, so only in the summer would I visit my cousin. I wish he would have spent more time with me so I'd have someone to hang out with at this new school.

After getting a new job, my mother decided it was time to move to Peach Creek so we could be closer to our family. So, there I was. Imagine this; A girl, a short girl at that, all by herself. Her usual un-tamable curly red hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, a new backpack, her nails chewed to stubs. She wanted to fit in, she wanted to have the confidence to go inside. She stood outside the door, out of the way of students going in. A boy knocks into her and she ends up dropping her new notebooks and folders.

That girl was me and this was happening right now. The boy hadn't even stopped to help, didn't say sorry either. It wasn't that I let people push me around, there was nothing I could do at the moment. I scramble to pick up my things before someone steps on them. "Here, let me help," a blonde girl gets on her knees to help. People around us tell her to move out of their way but she doesn't listen. "I'm Nazz." She smiles and hands me my things. Nothing is damaged, that's good. "Noelle," I say softly.

She tells me to follow her inside and I do, she's the only one that has been nice to me so far. "So, Noelle, what brings you to Peach Creek High?" We make our way through the crowded hall, avoiding the slow walkers and the people that stop to talk to their friends.

"Mom got a new job, my cousin goes here."

"Cousin? Do I know them?"

"His name is Kevin." I pull back a piece of hair that has fallen out of my ponytail. "You might know him, from what I heard he's pretty popular."

"He's my best friend. He knows you're here, right? We should go find him!" I just nod and follow her around. "Are you always this quiet?"

"Oh, uh, no. I'm just really nervous."

"Just be yourself, you'll fit right in."

I nod. "Uh, yeah. Um, I'm trying. I just get really nervous around new things."

She gives me a reassuring smile, I smile back without realizing it. We make a turn and walk down a less clustered hall, a few people were here and there but the groups were as big as the ones in the main hall. Maybe this was where the cool kids met before class, it would explain the small amount of students around. Or maybe they just thought it was a cool place to hang out and socialize with friends. As we walk down the hall, three boys pass by, one looked up to no good, another looked nervous, and the other looked like his mind was somewhere else. "They're the Eds," Nazz muttered, she must have seen me look at them.

I just nod and look in front of me. "Hey, Nazz! Noelle?" Kevin's leaning against a locker, looking like his usual cool self. "I didn't know you were coming today," he meets us in front of a classroom. "You know where you're goin'?" He puts an arm around my shoulder, his attempt at a hug. Before I can answer, he's talking again. "There's a few people I want you to stay away from, you don't want to become a dork." He turns us around so we're facing the way Nazz and I came from. "The Eds are dorks, no hanging out with them. And the Kankers are trouble, so no hanging out with them. Besides them, there's no one else to worry about."

What if I wanted to hang out with these people? Well, maybe not the troublesome people. But the Eds didn't seem all that bad, but I knew that Kevin wouldn't like it. I just nod, I guess I had to do what he says. He's only looking out for me, right? We socialize some more before the bell rings, I'm by myself again once it does. No one asks if I know where I'm going, they just avoid running into me. I move so I'm against the hall, I'd wait until the hall was clear so I could take my time to find my class. Kevin had said that he needed to get to class on time or he'd get detention, Nazz left without asking if I knew where I was going. So there I was, acting like I could disappear into the wall.

The bell rings once again and the hall is almost completely empty. I let out a breath and begin to walk down the hall. It was okay for me to be late because I was new, right? I didn't want to get in trouble on my first day but this schedule was a bit confusing. How was I supposed to find A203? I bite my lip and look around, everyone is gone now. Fuck.

About five minutes later, I make it to my first class. The door is locked so I knock. I already knew people would stare, it was only natural for people to stare at the new girl. I just wish I wasn't so late. The teacher, a young blonde, opens the door and smiles. "You must be Noelle."

I nod and look at the class. The Eds are there, the boys that Kevin told me not to talk to. Maybe I shouldn't listen to Kevin, they couldn't be that bad. Could they?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The day wasn't all that bad, I couldn't complain much. Even though I was late to some of my classes, I was excused and greeted with a smile from every teacher. Fitting in wasn't as hard as I thought, most of the kids were open to talk and greeted me as if they'd known me for years. I managed to stay away from the people Kevin warned me about, but I was still curious about the students I avoided. The school day was almost over, just one more class. During lunch, Nazz looked over my schedule and color coded classes using a highlighter. The classes in pink were in the A hallway, blue were in B, and green were in C. It made things so much easier.

My last class was in the C hallway, which seemed to be on the other side of the world. I managed to get there on time, just as the bell rang. I looked over the class before heading over to the teacher's desk. "Hello," I say softly, a small smile played on my lips. "I'm new, my name is Noelle."

"Ah, Noelle, nice to meet you," the teacher is young and blonde. "You can sit by Ed," her voice is soft and sweet, she probably gets pushed around by her students a lot. She seemed too soft spoken, she must get talked over. "Ed, raise your hand," she calls out to one of the Eds. This one has red hair and is the tallest of them all, he's not the brightest but he's the funniest.

Avoiding the Eds was impossible, they seemed to be everywhere. I had first period with all three, third with Eddy, fifth with Edd, and last period with Ed. Avoiding wasn't an option when you had to sit by one, we'd have to talk. Even though I was a year younger than the people around me, I was just as smart. I had skipped third grade and went straight to fourth. My parents were so proud, I was just glad that I was in the same grade as Kevin. Even if we didn't go to the same school, we could always call each other and ask for help. We used to be close like that, but not anymore. We were in a 'call only' friendship, Kevin didn't like when I hung around his friends.

But there was no way to avoid his friends, he knew just about everyone. If I wasn't allowed to be friends with the people he called friends, then I should be allowed to talk to whoever I chose. And I chose to talk to this Ed kid. I smiled as I sat, he returned the smile. He held text book, he turned it slightly to show me a comic book. I giggle softly. "You like comics? I knew this place back where I used to live and they had tons of comics." It wasn't too far away from this neighborhood.

"Really?" He got excited, the grin on his face grew. "Ed likes comic books."

"You refer to yourself in third person? That's rad."

"Ed likes to use names."

"Well, in that case, my name is Noelle."

"Noelle has a pretty name. Ed saw you with Kevin, you know Kevin?"

"Yeah, he's my cousin." I twirl some of my red hair between my fingers. "Red hair runs in the family." Mine was a shade lighter than my cousin's since my father was blond. "Mind if I check out what comic you're reading?"

"Ed would like something in return. How does Ed know if you're going to take his comic? Ed doesn't know you very well and Double D always warned Ed about new people. Ed does not think Noelle is a bad person, he just wants to trade."

"What does Ed want?"

"Ed likes surprises."

"Well, Noelle is full of surprises." I smirk and pull out a pen from my new back pack. "So, what I was talking about earlier, the comic store. We should go sometime. My treat since you're now my friend." I scribble my number on his hand and smile. "Call me whenever you'd like, just not too late at night. The next couple of weeks I'll be busy unpacking, but after all that I'm free to go to the comic store."

"Ed likes Noelle already," he grinned before handing me the comic. "Ed trusts Noelle."

"Noelle trusts Ed." I grin before taking the comic and checking it out.

Later that day, when I'm home, I threw my book bag down on the couch. It had turned out to be a pretty good day. Ed offered to walk me home, but Kevin insisted on walking with me. He warned me a million times that the Eds were nothing but trouble, but it was hard to believe him when I had spent so much time talking to one. Maybe Kevin was just out of his mind, maybe he was just be overprotective. Or both. "I'm home!" I call out to no one really, I knew my mom would be out.

Maybe I could go outside and see if anyone wanted to hang out. I hadn't managed to call anyone my friend besides Ed so I was hoping to get to know others around the cul-de-sac. If that didn't work, maybe I'd run into Ed. I walked right back out the door and down the steps. What to do, what to do.

"Hey cute thing," a short boy, who I realized was Eddy from the Eds, says. He was walking down the street with the other Eds. They just so happened to stop when I came out. I didn't know how to react to being called cute so I just waved. "Ed says you're Kevin's cousin, that must suck."

"It must suck being so short," I replied, I don't think I'm going to like this boy much. "Hey, Ed, wanna come inside? I think I know where the video games are. You too Double D."

The two boys look back at Eddy. "It would be rude not to accept her invitation," Double D said softly, he looked as if he was afraid of the shorter boy. Ed didn't think twice about it, he walked right up to me.

"Let's go Double D! Noelle said video games!"

"Fine, whatever," Eddy glares. "Go ahead and hang out with her. I'll go do something else."


	3. Chapter 3

"There's a party tonight, you should come," Kevin says. He leans against the locker beside mine. He had been trying to get me away from the Eds. It had been about two weeks since I started school and I've been hanging out with two of the Eds. I didn't like Eddy all too much and he didn't like me either. Since he was the 'leader' of the Eds, he made it harder for me to hang out with Ed and Double D.

"What's in it for me?" I saw no point in going to a party that was run by cool kids. I hardly knew anyone and I didn't want to be all alone. I knew Kevin was just going to ditch me for his cooler friends. "Let me invite Ed and Double D. Then I'll go."

"I'm not letting you invite dorks, Noelle. They'll ruin the whole party.

"I get why you have a problem with Eddy, but why the rest? Why Double D and Ed?"

He pauses. I knew he didn't have a good or real answer. "Fine, whatever."

"Now was that so hard?" I shut my locker after pulling out my bag. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm meeting up with Ed."

"Why?"

"Comic books."

"You're so lame."

I roll my eyes. "Bye, Kev." I wave before walking away. I was supposed to meet Ed at the front entrance of the school. I was excited to visit my old neighborhood and see some friends. I bet Ed would get along with my old friends.

"Ed!" I spot the tall red head waiting for me near the door. Ever since we became friends, we had gotten to know each other quite a bit. Also, the Kankers hate my guts. Since I had skipped a grade, I wasn't quite sixteen yet. So Ed would be doing the driving. I have never seen him drive before and I was a little nervous.

"Hey, Noelle!" He held up his keys and pointed towards his car. "Ready to go?" I nod and follow him to his car. "Ed is so excited to go to comic book store. Ed can hardly stay still."

"Ed never stays still," I giggle. He unlocks his car and we both get in. I pull out my phone and put the address into the GPS. "Let's get this show on the road!" I roll down the window, I notice the Kankers staring at me. Just to piss them off, I smile and wave. The blue haired one and the redhead turn away but the blonde keeps glaring. I look over at Ed. "Tell me about the Kankers."

"Why does Noelle want to know about the Kankers?" He pulls out of the school and we begin our drive. I just shrug. "The Kankers are mean, they like Eds."

"That explains a lot. They're always glaring at me. I guess they think I spend too much time with you. Oh, speaking of spending time, come to a party with me. It'll be fun."

"Ed will go to Noelle's party if Noelle comes with Ed to a surprise."

"To a surprise? I guess I could make that happen. Turn left here."

Finally, we're there. It didn't take too long but it seemed like it took longer than it actually did. "After this, you wanna just hang out? I know this ice cream place and I'm sure my friends would love to meet you."

He's hardly listening to me, he's too busy staring at the building. I giggle and grab his arm and take him inside. I've never seen his face light up so bright before. He looked like a little kid in a candy shop.

"Thank you, Noelle!" He starts to grab comics and begins to read them. Soon he has a good pile going and looks like he has to make a huge decision.

"Each comic is fifty cents, it won't cost me much to get you all of those comics." He grins and pulls me into a tight hug. A few minutes later, we're done and are on our way to the ice cream shop. "Having a good time?"

"Ed is having the best time ever!"


	4. Chapter 4

Parties weren't really my thing, this was actually my first high school party. I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb but in reality, no one was even looking at me. I blended in with the crowd even with two of the Eds behind me. If this was school, if we were in school right now, people would be staring. But no one was and no one cared. It was never me that they stared at, they probably didn't know my name. Whoever hung out with the Eds were stared at like they were growing a head out of their arm. Loud music shook the large house, it was some pop song that the radio played way too much. I couldn't help but song along anyways.

"It's crowded," Double noted in a weak voice. I could hardly hear him over the music. This wasn't his type of hang out and I knew that, I shouldn't have asked him to come in the first place. "There's a history exam tomorrow and I suggest you guys studied for it. Speaking of the exam, I shall leave and go study for it." He looked at me as if he were waiting for me to tell him he could go.

"I promise I'll study," I held up my hand as if I were pledging to do it. "Go study, Double D." He nodded before saying goodbye and parting ways. I watched him blend into the crowd before turning to Ed. "So," I paused. I wasn't sure what to talk about or what to do. "I guess Kevin didn't want to hang out with me." That wasn't a big deal, I knew that was going to happen.

"Ed dance," he practically yelled before grabbing my hands and pulling me towards some other dancing teens. He began to spin me in a circle and it was getting harder and harder to keep up with him. If we spin one more time, I think I'm going to throw up. The song switched to slower song but still was a catchy pop song. It was like a rule against playing super slow songs at parties. He stopped spinning us and now swayed back and forth, this was something I could do without feeling the urge to puke. "Ed is having fun," he grinned.

"Noelle is too," I grinned back. "Come on." I pull on his hand and lead him to the kitchen. "Is there anything other than alcohol?" I search the fridge for something but come up empty handed. "Wanna go get slushies or something?" He nods eagerly and we head towards the front door.

Before we reach the front door, Ed is stopped by someone I remember from one of my classes. "Ed will be right back," she said to me in a slurred tone. "Someone throw my shoe into a tree, he's tall." Before either of us could argue, she pulls him towards the back door. I let out a long sigh and walk back through the crowd.

I bump into Kevin on the way back to the kitchen. "Hey," he grins. I can tell he's had a few drinks and he had a plastic cup in his hands. He notices me eyeing the cup and passes it to me. "Bet you can down it in five seconds." I roll my eyes and take a small drink from the cup. I nearly gag from the awful taste. "Come on, it isn't that bad. Do it, do it, do it." Soon he has his small group of friends cheering with him. I let out a groan before downing the drink. They begin to cheer and clap, someone shoves another drink in my face. I shrug and begin to drink that one.

Soon enough, two drinks turns into four and I feel all fuzzy in my head. It was like millions of ants were roaming around and tickling my brain. Where was Ed when I needed him? I begin to walk away but soon I'm about to fall on my face. But I'm caught by a pair of arms and a voice I can almost remember. I turn to look at who caught me but all I see is little flakes of black. I begin to laugh uncontrollably in the face of who ever caught me.

"Let's get you to a bathroom," it said and I could feel myself getting guided towards somewhere. It was like I wasn't three there or something. Soon I'm still on something cold and I hear running water. The person holds a warm washrag to my head and my vision begins to work probably again. There, right in front of my face, was Eddy. The leader of the Eds and the person who wasn't afraid of saying how much he disliked me.

"Whoa," I said softly. He just chuckles in response. I can tell he's had a couple of drinks himself but he was in better shape than I was. Maybe he had less or maybe I was a light weight. I bring my lips to his and kiss him softly. I sobered up a bit quickly after that because after a second, I pulled away and was on my feet. "Sorry," I muttered before leaving the bathroom.

Where was Ed? I needed to get out of here. Now. I make my way through the crowd and rush out the front door. I pull my phone out and try to call my friend. After a couple of rings, it goes to his voicemail. I press end and start walking towards my house. I shouldn't have drank and I shouldn't have kissed Eddy. I shouldn't have went to the party in the first place. Once I get to my house, it takes a couple of tries to get the key to go into the keyhole. "Finally!" I turn the knob and go inside. I d a long shower and a glass of water. But first, I really had to pee.


	5. Chapter 5

I hadn't spoke to anyone about the events that happened at the party. I wanted to forget them myself and I was doing a pretty horrible job at it. I had kissed Eddy, the boy who yelled and called me rude names. Why did I kiss him? The alcohol had clouded my mind and made my do something stupid. Maybe I imagined the whole thing because Eddy hadn't said anything about it and continued to about the hell out of me. Maybe he wanted to forget about it to. It was so stupid anyways, I was stupid.

Gym class let me blow off steam that I didn't know I had and I had to sit on the bench for knocking into someone too roughly while playing basketball. This was for the best, I could just shot and think about everything. One thing I really hated about this him class was that they split the girls and guys up, it was no fair at all. Bit those were the rules and I was in no mood to rebel against the school.

I let out a small sigh as I wanted Nazz pass the ball to some girl I didn't know the name of. The boys were also playing basketball and seemed to be taking it more seriously than the girls were. The gym teacher blow his whistle and motioned for me to join him on the boys' side of the gym. People had stopped playing to watch me walk across the gym towards to boys. Nazz smiled at me when I looked her way and I returned it with a nervous smile unlike her brilliant one.

"Yes?" I asked once I was close enough to have a conversation with my teacher. Apparently, he thought I was a good player and wanted me to go against one of the boys. I didn't quite understand why I had to go against a boy when the girls were on the other side of the gym. "But-" I began but was cut off by his loud voice.

"I have actual basketball players on an actual team," he said in an annoyed tone. Or maybe that was how he always sounded. "None of those girls are on the girls team and I'll have you go against my boy that is on the team." I just shrug and he calls up none other than Eddy. I didn't know he played basketball. I would look like such a chicken if I backed out now.

"Ready to lose?" I challenged with a smirk. He didn't say anything, he just rolled his eyes.

After gym, I hurried to the locker room and was congratulated by the other girls. I hadn't won but I tried my best and that seemed enough for everyone and I now had a chance to show the girls' basketball coach my skills. I wasn't sure if I wanted to play basketball or not but I felt the pressure to try out. I was in no rush to get to class so I took my time changing our of my gross gym clothes and into what I had worn to school. Soon, the locker room was empty and I was the last out.

"Hey," Eddy said after I exited the locker room. "You were good, almost had me."

I shrugged. "I'm not sure if basketball is my thing," I admired. "He kind of forced me to play."

"Don't try out then. If you don't want to, you don't have to."

"I know."

It's silent as we walk down the abandoned hall. Most people were in class now and we were so late. "So, about the party," he suddenly said.

"I was drunk," I quickly say. "I'm sorry."

"It's cool."

"It is?" I stop in my tracks. "I drunkenly kissed you and you're cool with it?"

He shrugs and stops. "Yeah, I guess. I was surprised, I thought you liked Ed."

"Just because I missed you doesn't mean-wait, what? I don't like Ed."

"I thought you did, you hang out with him a lot."

"We're friends."

"Who do you like then? Double D?"

"Why do I have to like someone? And why do you care?"

"I don't care."

"Then what's with all the questions?"

"I'm just wondering if you like any of my friends."

"You're just going to have to keep wondering, huh?" I glare and hurry off to my class that I'm already late for. I didn't like anyone and he shouldn't care of I liked any of his friends.

After school, I walk home alone. A ton of other students stayed after for the pep rally, I was in no mood to join the festivities. After talking to Eddy, I was in a sour mood. I was almost to my porch when my phone began vibrating. I sigh and put it to my ear. "Hey Kev-"

"You kissed Eddy?" He was angry and I could picture his face without seeing it. How did he know? Speak stupid, deny it.

"What? That's stupid. Where'd you hear that from?" The line went dead without him answering my question. I hurry to get my keys out and practically run inside. Did Eddy say something? Unlikely since Kevin would go off on him without casting who saw. Was someone listening to our conversation? I thought that we were alone. Someone had to have been listening.


End file.
